McAllen native Will Collins has built a formidable retail and commercial real estate company whose developments span much of South Texas. From its headquarters in San Antonio, Merit Commercial Real Estate shows on its webpage dark blue diamonds pinned on a Texas map. Each pin represents a Merit development project with clusters of them in the Rio Grande Valley and the San Antonio-area market. Collins comes from a banking family.…
Princeton University student Wendy Kopp formulated the idea of Teach For America in 1989 for her undergraduate thesis. The first participants in the nascent TFA program began their lifelong pursuit of educational excellence in 1990. Teach for America Rio Grande Valley was founded the following year. The national organization and its affiliates around the country are non-profit institutions. They recruit and train recent college graduates and professionals to teach in…
The footprint of the Rio Grande Valley’s citrus industry has largely retreated to the northern reaches of Hidalgo County from what once was a regional reach of over 100,000 acres. The RGV citrus industry of today counts about 25,000 acres of grapefruits and oranges. The turning points for an industry that historically defined the region’s early agricultural history were the freezes of 1983 and 1989. The damage from those weather…
Israel Vega is a nurse practitioner who dabbles in renovating classic Chevys and is a founding member of a Rio Grande Valley-based semi-pro soccer team. Since January, you can add co-owner of a Los Fresnos coffee shop to his portfolio. PJ’s Coffee is a shop he co-owns with his business partner and fellow Los Fresnos native, Adam Abrego. They wanted to create a sense-of-community kind of place where people could gather…
Solis Mammography, the nation’s largest independent provider of specialized breast health services, is now operating out of Valley Regional Medical Center, expanding screening and diagnostic breast imaging services to Brownsville and the lower Rio Grande Valley region. Patients in the Brownsville and lower Rio Grande Valley communities may now experience the latest in innovative technology, including the integration of AI software with 3D mammography for greater accuracy and earlier-stage cancer detection.…
The City of McAllen held a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 16 for Camp McAllen, a first-of-its-kind public campground offering residents and visitors immersive outdoor experiences, right in the heart of the city. Located at 8701 N. 23rd Street, just north of Frontera Road, the 20-acre site includes fishing docks, kayak launches, an archery range, walking and biking trails, and group camping spaces. Mayor Javier Villalobos, city commissioners and city…
At the Port of Brownsville, the Texas Shrimp Association has a reason to celebrate when both Texas and federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico officially open for the shrimp season on July 15. After years of facing a flood of cheap, foreign shrimp imports, Texas shrimpers recently received support from state lawmakers. During the 89th legislative session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 823 requiring food service suppliers, wholesalers and distributors…
Valley Regional Medical Center has been selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the 2025 Best Places to Work in Healthcare. “Being recognized as a 2025 Best Place to Work in Healthcare is a powerful testament to how these organizations value their people,” said Dan Peres, president of Modern Healthcare. “In a time of constant change and challenge, this year’s winners have shown a deep commitment to creating environments where…
The Port of Brownsville has received the 19th annual Rodolfo Garza Export Merit Award from COMCE Noreste, recognizing the port’s performance building strong export partnerships with Mexico. The award was presented recently during COMCE Noreste’s 64th Ordinary General Assembly at the Industrial Club in Monterrey, Mexico. Accepting the honor on behalf of the port were William Dietrich, port director and CEO, and Guillermo Rico, director of Business Development and Marketing.…
Lone Star National Bank’s annual Back to School Drive has begun and community members are welcome to participate by dropping off supplies at local banking centers. The drive has been taking place for more than 15 years at LSNB and will run from now through July 23. With support from employees, customers and community partners, the drive provides essential school supplies to children in need across South Texas, ensuring they…